Cataracts and similar degradations of the natural lens in a patient's eye are typically treated by removing the natural lens and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens (“IOL”). Where an IOL is used to replace the patient's natural lens, the IOL is traditionally placed in the posterior portion of the eye, the portion of the eye formally occupied by the natural lens.
Recently, there has been considerable interest in developing techniques for implanting IOL's in healthy eyes to correct myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism. The implanting of corrective IOL's in healthy eyes can obviate the necessity of wearing spectacles and contact lenses. Where the IOL is used to correct the vision in a healthy eye, the IOL must be placed in the anterior portion of the eye, since the posterior portion of the eye remains occupied by the natural lens.
In my co-pending patent application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/690,783 (the entirety of which is incorporated herein by this reference), I disclosed an insertion tool for inserting a double-folded IOL into the anterior portion of a patient's eye. That insertion tool, however, requires that the IOL be initially loaded into a holding station within the insertion tool prior to the use of the tool to insert the IOL into the eye of the patient. Having to initially load the IOL into the holding station requires that the IOL be removed from its container with a forceps and loaded into the holding station using the forceps.
It would be advantageous to be able to provide an improved insertion tool which eliminates the requirement of having to initially load the IOL into a holding station. The invention is directed to such an improved insertion tool.